10 hottest ISA shares, funds and trusts: week ended 2 August 2024
We reveal the 10 most-popular shares, funds and investment trusts added to ISAs on the interactive investor platform during the past week.
5th August 2024 11:01
by Lee Wild from interactive investor
With the new tax year under way, we look at the investments ii customers have been buying within their ISAs during the previous week. The data includes only real-time trades, not regular investing instructions, and combines the use of both existing funds and new money.
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Top 10 shares in ISAs
Company name | Place change | |
1 | New | |
2 | Up 3 | |
3 | Unchanged | |
4 | Up 6 | |
5 | New | |
6 | Up 3 | |
7 | New | |
8 | New | |
9 | New | |
10 | New |
Small-cap oil company UK Oil & Gas (LSE:UKOG) makes the list of the 10 most-bought shares in ISAs on the ii platform for the first time, and it’s at the top of the table.
As well as various drilling licences, UKOG also owns UK Energy Storage Ltd (UKEn), which plans to create a 3Terawatt hour (TWh) hydrogen storage facility in underground salt caverns in Dorset.
There have been some announcements regarding holdings in the company in the past week, but the focal point appears to have been news on Friday that the company’s Dorset and Yorkshire underground hydrogen storage projects had received support from German energy giant RWE.
UKOG explains: “RWE's planned green hydrogen plants within the Solent Cluster, Didcot and Teesside, are both in geographic and planned pipeline proximity to UKEn's storage projects and present the opportunity to store hydrogen created from excess renewable power for future conversion to power during periods when the wind doesn't blow, the sun doesn't shine, or there are unforeseen power demand spikes.”
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UKOG shares traded as low as 0.014p late July, but changed hands at one point last week for as much as 0.13p, which is a gain of over 800%.
UK banks have been busy publishing results, and both Barclays (LSE:BARC) and HSBC Holdings (LSE:HSBA) reported promising half-year figures. They beat expectations on a number of levels, triggering a rally to multi-year highs for Barclays and a decent uplift for high-yielding HSBC.
But a broad market sell-off late in the week on concerns about a recession in the US following latest jobs data, wiped out all the gains and more. Both banks made it into the list on either post-results buying or bargain hunting after the crash. Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY) also jumped six places up the list to the fourth spot.
Both Diageo (LSE:DGE) and BP (LSE:BP.) are back in the top 10 as bargain hunters moved in following results day losses. Shares in Diageo plunged to their lowest level since the 2020 Covid crash after sales and profit missed City forecasts, as consumers switched from its expensive brands to cheaper booze.
Surprisingly, it’s the first time Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) is among the most-bought ISA stocks. The online retail giant’s second-quarter sales just missed analyst forecasts. Investors had also hoped for more aggressive estimates for the third quarter. Management expect growth of 8-11% compared with the 12% wanted by Wall Street. That had already put the shares on the back foot, and share price losses were guaranteed as tech stocks got hit again.
Top 10 funds and trusts in ISAs
Company name | Place change | |
1 | Up 1 | |
2 | Up 1 | |
3 | Down 2 | |
4 | Up 3 | |
5 | Up 3 | |
6 | Down 2 | |
7 | New | |
8 | Down 2 | |
9 | New | |
10 | New |
High-yielding trust Greencoat UK Wind (LSE:UKW) was the most-popular ISA fund or investment trust last week, rising from second to first place.
Now on a yield of 7%, assuming it can keep paying its dividend, the trust is popular with income-seekers.
In contrast, second-placed Scottish Mortgage Ord (LSE:SMT) is an out-and-out growth investment trust, owning the likes of Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) and ASML Holding NV (EURONEXT:ASML). After a sharp sell-off last week for technology shares, that has continued into this week, Scottish Mortgage investors are now down 2% in share price terms so far in 2024.
Another technology fund enduring a difficult week is L&G Global Technology Index Trust. The most popular fund last week, it is now in third place, having dropped about 5% in value over the past five trading days.
- Top 10 most-bought investment funds: July 2024
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- Top 10 most-popular investment trusts: July 2024
The other funds dropping in popularity last week were Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity (down two to sixth) and Royal London Short Term Money Market (down two to eighth).
The final risers were JPMorgan Global Growth & Income Ord (LSE:JGGI) (up three places to fourth) and Jupiter India (up three places to fifth).
Two new entries were Fundsmith Equity and Allianz Technology Trust Ord (LSE:ATT), which both have a bias to fast-growing shares.
Please remember, investment value can go up or down and you could get back less than you invest. If you’re in any doubt about the suitability of a stocks & shares ISA, you should seek independent financial advice. The tax treatment of this product depends on your individual circumstances and may change in future. If you are uncertain about the tax treatment of the product you should contact HMRC or seek independent tax advice.
These articles are provided for information purposes only. Occasionally, an opinion about whether to buy or sell a specific investment may be provided by third parties. The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or product, or to adopt any investment strategy as it is not provided based on an assessment of your investing knowledge and experience, your financial situation or your investment objectives. The value of your investments, and the income derived from them, may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.
Full performance can be found on the company or index summary page on the interactive investor website. Simply click on the company's or index name highlighted in the article.